Bottle-closure.



F. E. SANDERS.

BOTTLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17, 1913.

LQL55Q Patented De0.16,1913.

rm 3. sannnas, or onnnsna, massaonusn'r'rs.

BOTTLE-CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, i913.

Application filed may 17, 1913. Serial No. 768,248.

To all wh om it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED E. -SANDERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Closures, of which the followin is a specification;

This invention r ates to improvements in bottle closures, the object of which is to provide an inexpensive and durable closure, particularly though not exclusively, for use on milk bottles,

The present method of sealing mllk bottles consists chiefly in providing paper disks which are adapted to fit an annular recess formed adjacent the mouth of said bottle. While still another method is to use the disk, as stated, in connection with a paper cap adapted to entirely close the end of said bottle, said cap being secured in place over said end by wire bands or the like. Agreat objection however to the first mentioned device'is that during cold weather, should the jar be left exposed to the severe atmosphere,

the liquid or the milk therein would congea l or expand, consequently forcing said disk upwardly quite a considerable distance leaving the milk, therebeneath in its congealed state, exposed to the air and a great temptation to cats and dogs and also exposed to the germs carried by the dust which may be circulated by the wind in the vicinity of said bottle. Should the other method of entirely closing the end of the bottle be employed and the same be exposed to an extremely low temperature, severe enough to congeal the milk contained within the jar or bottle, the expansion of said milk would either burst the bands which are for the purpose of retaining said closure in place, or should said hands be strong enough to prevent the expansion of said milk the bottle would be broken.

To overcome these objections a device has been provided which consists of a closure formed of elastic material, which is adapted to inclose the end of a bottle having an annular bead arranged adjacent to the mouth thereof, and is provided with a lip extending around the margin thereof adapted to strengthen the edge of said closure, said lip adapted to fit beneath said head and to seal the mouth of said bottle. Said closure is of such a resiliency and is held so securely by said lip that the liquid contained within said bottle will be permitted to freeze and providing a reinforcement at the top of said closure adapted to resist distortion thereof.

The invention finally consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly' pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the neck of a bottle having a closure embodying my invention shown in connection therewith. parts of said bottle being broken away. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the bottleneck and closure illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the closure in expanded relation to said bottle caused by the congealing and expanding of the liquid contained therein.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 is the neck of a bottle having a mouth 6 and an annular bead 7 arranged adjacent to the mouth 6. A closure 8 is arranged to-cover the mouth 6 of the bottle and fit over the bead 7 said closure being formed of imperforate elastic material preferably rubber and of a sufiicient depth to entirely cover said head. The margin 9 of said closure is preferably enlarged to form a lip 10 and by reason of said enlargement, said lip will naturally be relatively less elastic than is the body portion of said closure, thus preventing the displacement of said closure when a certain de gree of pressure is applied thereto from the interior of said bottle.

The closure 8 is provided with a reinforcing material 11, said reinforcing material extending across the top portion of said closure to assist in retaining the shape of said closure, when the same is removed from the bottle, and is composed of textile material which is molded into sai rubber and when so used a portion of sai closure, from the edge 12 of said material to the upper edge 13 of saidlip, will permit of suflicient elongat-ion thereof to allow for the expansion of thereof, as illustrated in Fi 3, to allow the top of the closure to con orm to-the new shape impartedthereto by the ex ansion of the frozen liquid within the bott e without injuring or cutting the rubber of which said closure is formed.

In using the closure on milk bottles it will overand over again and easily disinfected after each successive use to provide an absolutely sanitary milk bottle or, if desired, the usual disk may be employed in connection therewith, as illustrated at 14, Fig. 2. Furv thermore the-device may be used in-manifold ways and upon many types of bottles or recure is:

ceptacles without departing from the spirit or scope of'the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to se- A closure for bottles embodying in its 'construction top and side members formed of rubber integral with each other and textile material embedded in said top member and adapted to yield laterally thereof. readily be seen that thes'ame may be used In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. a

FRED E. SANDERS. I Witnesses: I

' SYDNEY E. Tm,

Lnonenn A. POWELL. 

